GRAFTON — Former Enfield Chief Roy Holland stepped up immediately after his retirement to fill a gap in coverage in Grafton for eight weeks.
“They had nobody to cover the town,” said Holland, who resides in Enfield. “…Grafton was stuck in a really kind of hard position.”
Now six weeks into Holland’s temporary employment responding to calls and working on site almost daily, the department is still short staffed and looking to quickly recruit a new full-time officer and a part-time officer.
Despite expressed interest from a couple New Hampshire-certified officers, Grafton received four applications from non-certified individuals, a familiar theme in town. Some residents have also expressed frustration at the town’s past approach to recruiting.
After an initial retirement in 2022, former chief Russell Poitras returned in November as an administrative supervisor following the resignation of Chief Mitchell Briggs. He currently stops by a couple mornings a week primarily to fill out paperwork, but is no longer certified and therefore cannot respond to calls or conduct field training, said Holland.
One part-time officer, Samuel Frank, lives in Florida, but helps out when he visits. The other, Peter Brigham, is currently not working because he is in EMT school.
In March, Jeffrey Cogswell defeated Synthia Ravell in a race for police chief, 178-100, at Town Meeting. Cogswell had previous law enforcement background but his certification expired. Ravell was a paralegal. Both would have had to go through the police academy.
Just days after the election, Cogswell announced his resignation, citing an unexpected roadblock in his hiring process that he opted not to specify. Cogswell was never formally appointed and the town was left without a chief.
The Selectboard had also asked voters for the fourth time in recent years for the power to appoint the next chief so they wouldn’t be limited to a Grafton resident, but it was turned down, 184-122.
Now, there will be a special election next year for someone who can finish Cogswell’s three-year term. Technically, the Selectboard may appoint an interim chief until the special election but figured no one would want the job only for one year, especially if they live out of town and can’t run to secure the role for longer, said Selectman Steve Darrow.
At the Selectboard meeting following Cogswell’s announcement, resident Yaakov Abuhav expressed discontent over his pending application with the police department, which he said had been submitted over a month prior.
“I’ve heard nothing back in any official capacity,” said Abuhav.
The Selectboard said that it was up to Poitras to respond to it, but ultimately agreed to inquire about the delay. Abuhav noted in a May 11 email to the Valley News that they were apparently not hiring at the time.
Ravell had a conditional offer of employment to become a full-time officer with the department, which Darrow believes was in January or February.
“As far as I know, the position Synthia filled was never made public, and no one else was considered for the position,” Abuhav said earlier this month.
Ravell started as a recruit officer in mid-April, and spent a couple weeks learning the fundamentals of being a police officer, Holland said.
When Ravell failed a physical examination to attend the May academy, she said Friday by phone, the position she had briefly held opened to the public. The pay may change from $37.
“It could be higher, it could be lower. It depends on the person and their past experience,” said Darrow.
Ravell has now set her sights for the August academy. She noted that she narrowly failed her test and will continue training this summer. Ravell also plans to run for chief again next March.
But some residents think the town should have made openings available to the public sooner.
Resident Gary Whitney submitted a Freedom of Information request regarding department employees. The roster showed Poitras listed as an administrative supervisor making $40 an hour, Brigham and Frank making $31 as part-time officers and Ravell making $37 as recruit officer. Holland was listed as a field training officer, making $10 per hour.
At the May 19 Selectboard meeting, Whitney said the document was incomplete, as he also requested job descriptions for each person, according to a meeting recording.
“Once we get it, we will give it to you,” Selectboard Chairman Ed Grinley responded.
Whitney felt that the recruiting process was not transparent before Ravell’s hiring this spring due to no public advertising, he said.
Darrow believes that Ravell expressed her interest to the department, and that the job was not posted.
“That’s the part we’re correcting right now,” said Darrow, referring to a flyer on the town website.
The department is still collecting applications, said Holland, but has scheduled a June 8 physical test that all applicants are invited to take. Those who pass will move forward in the application process.
The police department will then present its hiring recommendation to the Selectboard for approval.
Holland said that a certified applicant would take priority considering it saves the town 16 weeks of someone going through academy and that person has experience to bring in. If a certified hire is not in the cards, the goal is to send a recruit to the August academy.
While the academy itself is free to the town, the recruit would be paid throughout the 16 weeks.
In the meantime, the town would need someone to cover calls for service, which as of Wednesday, were up to 190 calls for year, said Holland, for an average of one or two calls per day.
Holland, despite moving toward retirement, is willing to provide some assistance on a part-time basis while the department gets back on its feet. He is not willing to be there for day-to-day operations beyond the next two weeks, but could help arrange with other departments for training purposes.
“My intent is to move on from my law enforcement career,” said Holland.
